PART 2:
Life and Society in the civilization that you selected [BENIN EMPIRE]
4] Describe
life in the region or how the civilization that you have selected functioned
such as in the areas of governance, agriculture, trade, commerce, architecture,
and any special artifacts of BENIN EMPIRE
MANY OF YOU
HAVE ALREADY IDENTIFIED AND DECIDED ON THE ITEMS TO FOCUS ON SUCH AS PYRAMIDS,
GREAT LEADERS / WARRIORS [AND THEIR TOOLS ETC], CLOTHING, RELIGIOUS
STRUCTURE, LANGUAGE, SYMBOLS, ARCHITECTURE, WRITINGS / MANUSCRIPTS, ART, ETC.
YOU WILL EXPAND ON THIS SECTION BELOW IN ITEM 5.
5] Discuss
culture and society in your selected African civilization and include
information on language, arts, and any other social aspects of that society, (BENIN EMPIRE).
HOW WERE
THESE ITEMS USED AND MADE THE CIVILIZATION THAT YOU HAVE DISCUSSED IMPORTANT,
KNOWN, FAMOUS. WHAT HAVE BEEN THE LASTING IMPACT IN TODAY?S SOCIETY OF THESE
ITEMS / PLACES / THINGS?
6] Conclusion
Summarize and
tie EVERYTHING TOGETHER from both your intro week 3 paper and the new midterm
due in week 5.
7] The conclusion section should tie together
everything that you have written from the beginning [short essay up to the
midterm], your research and learning experiences in AFN 121 late start course and
any observations that you discovered about your area of research on your
specific African civilization, the places, people and things that you have
selected to discuss.
FORMAT
8] You should have a cover page [see template] a
separate reference page. The font is 12 points in Times New Roman, headings
[always at the center] and subheadings [always at the left margin] should be in
bold, indent each new paragraph by 5 points at the margin.
Hi, the two-page introduction paper is included in the document folder, this paper you are meant to do now is like a continuation paper for the uploaded introduction.
Benin Empire
Provide an introduction/discussion on why this particular civilization was selected.
The Kingdom of Benin is a well-known pre-colonial West African State. This magnificent empire began in the 900s when the Edo people lived in the rainforests of West Africa. The original name of this pre-colonial African empire was Edo, and currently, it is known as part of Southern Nigeria (Bondarenko, 2005). Benin became an Empire during the rule of Ewuare, who built up an army that he used to win the land. He then later built Benin City and the royal palace for the kings. Benin empire?s location was on a plain, and although the city had walls making up the South and North borders, it had other walls that divided the city into 500 villages. The empire reached its greatest power under Oba Ewuare the Great. As a powerful leader, he expanded the massive kingdom and improved the capital. This was defined by massive walls. The rise of Benin?s monarch?s power started during this era. To honor the Obas, who were considered the most powerful, the Benin people conducted rites that showed their loyalty and devotion, including sacrificing humans.
The Benin empire was always under threat because of palm oil and rubber commodities, which the kingdom traded. In this case, the British wanted to capture the empire to be in control of their palm oil and rubber. The British target was to become wealthier by selling those commodities. The residents were na?ve to new to foreign civilizations with threatening weapons. Eventually, much Chaos in the City led to British soldiers blowing it up to the ground in 1897. This unfortunate occurrence led to the collapse of the Benin Empire as the British took over the kingdom, leading to its decline. Although the Europeans executed the 35th Oba following his opposition after they intruded into Benin Empire, it was not long before the 36th Oba returned to his rightful position along with a few traditional leaders.
Why is this civilization important?
Benin empire was important because it participated in the slave trade. Europeans? intrusion into the Great City of Benin sparked the slave trade in the Benin Empire. After, the Benin kingdom enslaved people who were highly in demand in Europe and America. They captured women and men from their enemies and sold them to European buyers who wanted to enslave people to work as laborers on their farms without payments. Thus, the Benin kingdom served an important role during this era as they controlled trade between the inland people and the Europeans within the coastal areas. Its participation in the West African slave trade made it much wealthier and very popular among the Europeans. They also helped European wives with house chores.
Furthermore, as mentioned above, the Benin Empire was important because it had various trade commodities such as palm oil and rubber (Bradbury, 2018). People of the Benin Empire were famous for working with various materials, mainly brass, ivory, and wood. They were also famous for their sculptures, mainly life-size head sculptures and plaques. The plaques usually described historical events that occurred, and the heads were life-sized. Besides, artisans crafted different ivory objects, for their European trade partners, including masks, who used them in salt cellars. As such, traders from the Benin empire developed close ties with the Portuguese merchants, who sought the kingdom?s ivory and artwork. Moreover, there is no doubt that the Benin City walls are the most significant archaeological works ever, considering that the Edo people built them without any technology. This knowledge alone makes this civilization one of a kind and vital to modern architecture. Additionally, this empire led to the modern-day Benin City, a famous tourist attraction in West Africa.
.
References
Bradbury, R. E. (2018). The kingdom of Benin. In?West African kingdoms in the nineteenth century?(pp. 1- 35). Routledge.
Bondarenko, D. M. (2005). ?A Homoarchic Alternative to the Homoarchic State: the Benin Kingdom of the 13th – 19th Centuries.??Social Evolution & History; 4(2) 18-88.?https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/International_Standard_Serial_Number
